WORRIED ambulance chiefs have warned that the county's emergency service will suffer if violent attacks on staff continue.

The warning follows an incident where a paramedic was punched in the face after he offered to help a man who seemed lost at Ronkswood Hospital's accident and emergency department in Worcester.

Steve McGuinness, the ambulance service's director of operations, said a vehicle was taken out of service when the crewman was sent home.

"He landed on concrete and his injuries could have been much more serious," he said.

"It is the eighth attack on a member of staff in a year and, make no bones about it, it left less ambulances to do the job. It has got to stop."

Mr McGuinness said the abuse, both verbal and physical, was putting the lives of both patients and staff in danger.

"We respond to 999 calls as swiftly as possible, shifting three tonnes of metal around the countryside to answer people's needs," he said.

"Is it too much to expect to be recognised and respected so we can do our job properly?"

Mr McGuinness, who has worked in the service for 29 years, said it had had no choice but to start training staff in self-defence techniques two years ago.

"This never happened before. And don't blame it on alcohol. We can't accept being drunk or on drugs as an excuse for abusive behaviour.

"All public workers need to be protected from this."

6 Opinion: P8